The Selangor Barisan Nasional (BN) party is facing a challenging task in seat negotiations with its new ally, Pakatan Harapan (PH), for the upcoming state election. This is according to political analyst Azmi Hassan from Akademi Nusantara.
Hassan explains that BN is at a disadvantage due to its poor performance in the last two general and state polls. In the November general election in Selangor, BN was completely defeated and only won four of the 56 state seats in 2018.
The negotiations are further complicated as Amanah and Umno are competing for the same Malay majority seats. Meanwhile, PKR is looking to regain control of Bukit Antarabangsa and Gombak Setia, seats that were lost when assembly members defected.
Hassan also notes that the PH-BN partnership has changed the dynamic for seat negotiations. Previously, Amanah was PH’s first choice for Malay-majority seats, but now there are other factors to consider. In certain cases, Umno is seen as more influential than Amanah.
Sany Hamzan, an Amanah central leadership committee member, has said that PH will defend all the state seats it currently holds despite its collaboration with BN. However, PH has lost five seats to Perikatan Nasional since 2018.
Additionally, Azizuddin Mohd Sani from Universiti Utara Malaysia suggests that BN’s MIC and MCA will further complicate seat negotiations in the state. PH and BN may offer them alternatives such as the speaker’s post instead.
Hassan predicts that Umno will take all the seats offered to BN and will not give up any to MIC or MCA.
